Thursday, November 12, 2015

Odisha's
a strange place when it comes to food. Especially urban centres like
Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Not that they are starved of eateries, far from
it: I guess food lies in the second rung among lucrative business
ventures, right after clothes. But invariably, the array of
preparations they turn out tends to be -
call it what you will, homogenised, standardised - I call it boring.
The same old stuff: mostly misbegotten "Mughlai" and faux-Chinese, a few
hackneyed Odiya dishes like Dalma and Mutton Kassa, perhaps one or
two equally hackneyed Bengali fish preparations, and that's it. The
State's rich, diverse culinary heritage gets showcased so rarely in
these joints that it's futile to expect them to display any true
identity or personality. At best they'll have a couple of signature
items they do really well, and then beyond that the same old gunk.
Even Jungle View, one of the few truly offbeat eateries I've
encountered in the vicinity, now stoops to quasi-Chinese
preparations. Incipient Kaliyuga, that's what it is.

The place's name is entirely
appropriate: it is sandwiched between Nandan Kanan and the adjoining
Chandaka Elephant Reserve. You may not get to see (or
'view') much jungle, but that is a minor nit. The point is, it is
located miles away from anywhere, literally, even the most recently
urbanised parts of Bhubaneswar. So how do they manage to run a
prosperous eatery business so far away from cities, that too cities
not especially known for offbeat dining? Tourists from Nandan Kanan
cannot contribute all that much by way of custom. As a matter of
fact, most diners seem to come all the way from Bhubaneswar or
Cuttack, or even farther places, just to eat there.

It started out as a nondescript dhābā , then evolved to offer a nice little line in local meaty
preparations or, as this blog calls them, 'rustic tribal delicacies'. These include mutton - technically chevon or goat meat -
cooked in bamboo logs, in earthenware pots, and wrapped in leaves of
some sort. Over time the place's reputation began to spread through
word of mouth, it expanded its repertoire to include Japanese quail
(locally called gunduri) and emu, apparently sourced from a farm in Ganjam. Also, to accommodate its steadily-growing upmarket clientele,
it took over an adjacent tract
of land and converted it into an open-air dining space where you get
the same food at marginally marked-up prices.

Let's face it, the upmarket side of things is tacky in the extreme. Mainly due to
the excessive use of moulded concrete masquerading as unfinished log.
Right at the gate you encounter this rude post-and-lintel arrangement
made even more hideous by the two concrete birds perched on top and
looking slightly bored. Inside, you have a garden with two thatched
gazebos, each capable of seating about twelve. Rather pretty, really,
and for once the concrete used there looks like concrete. Beyond lies
the central dining area. This comprises a vast awning propped up on
concrete pillars trying their best to look like bamboo clumps. Beneath
the awning lies a marble dining table large enough to seat thirty-five
comfortably. Around it are concrete benches looking vaguely like split
logs. The backrests are even more strange, featuring moulded concrete
trelliswork made to look like er, what? Mangrove roots?

After you cross
this you encounter another stretch of garden with more creative
landscaping, notably a hill made of concrete and boulders, which reminds
me irresistibly of grottoes I have seen at some churches. This stretch
also contains cages full of birds, mainly gunduri, which also
features prominently in the menu. Along the left edge of the tract run a
series of air-conditioned prefab cabins, available to groups at
no extra cost. Each can seat about twenty or so. Spartan furnishings notwithstanding, they do provide a modicum of
privacy and comfort especially in the summer months.

So much for the decor - it's obvious that's not why we keep going there.
We go there for the food and, despite the distance, we've been there so
many times I've lost count. Most of the photos posted here are from an
impromptu visit last March. There were five of us, including colleagues
Bishwa, Millan, Ram, and Sudatta. We had little work that afternoon, the
weather was still pleasant, so it was not difficult to persuade the
rest of the gang, particularly Millan who readily agreed to get his car
along. The drive was most pleasant, two long halts at level crossings
notwithstanding. On this occasion the air-conditioned cabins were not
available. We sat beneath the central awning instead, and passed time most
convivially taking pictures and cracking stupid jokes till the food
arrived. Emu was off that day, much to our disappointment. We
contented ourselves with Bamboo Mutton, quail, some Dal with egg in it,
some Dal without egg. And Naan and rice.

The mutton is clearly the place's signature dish, and also the most
expensive at around four hundred a serving. Small chunks of mutton are
liberally smeared with spices, ginger, garlic and (very discernibly)
mustard oil, and then stuffed into hollow bamboo logs. The logs are then
sealed, tossed into smouldering embers, and left there for the meat to
cook. Once done, the logs are fished out of the embers and brought
directly to the table, where a waiter ceremoniously scoops out the meat
onto a plate. Cooked this way, it remains chewy, even tough at times. It
absorbs the smokiness of the embers, and the bamboo imbues it with its
own subtle grassy fragrance and moistness. The mustard oil's
pungency also remains discernible, albeit subdued. The result is
surprisingly harmonious, perhaps because the individual notes are all
understated. All in all, the preparation as well as the final results
are not something one is likely to encounter elsewhere. Definitely a
high-point of my stay in Odisha.

I am not so fond of quail. It is a bony bird, with not all that much
meat on it. Its flavour is interesting but not remarkable, at least not
to my palate. The chefs at Jungle View coat it in a spicy paste, and
then cook the bird whole in loads of oil (not mustard oil, though). The
spice levels do little to help matters; for one, they tend to block out
much of the meat's intrinsic flavour. Still, an interesting preparation,
and justifies an occasional foray if only for novelty value.

On subsequent visits I had occasion to sample the other stuff on the
menu. The Emu wins hands down, beautiful stuff it is. They serve it
boneless, braised in much the same spices as go into the quail. But the meat's
darker, discernibly more gamey flavour goes well with the
spices. It is pricey at about 260 Rupees for a small plate, but more than
worth the spend. The mutton cooked in earthenware pots is also
excellent. Once we tried some prawn. It turned out to be so spectacular
we promptly ordered another plate. I don't know how they cook it, but it
was soft, not over-spiced, and had this distinctive smoky flavour. I
have not managed to try the leaf-wrapped mutton yet. Certainly the next
time I go across I shall make it a point to try it out, and also renew
my acquaintance with all the stuff I have only mentioned in passing
here. Do stay tuned for an update.

11
comments:

Bamboo mutton...😍😍Wow..The way you described it..the flavours and the taste..sounds heavenly..!!!Know what, I was supposed to go there once but the plan got cancelled because of some extra class.If I knew I missed such an excellent place, I would have made plans again.Also, I didn't know an Emu is called Gunduri in Odia.Have never had emu meat.Sounds interesting from your description.Please let's plan a visit to this place whenever I am in Cuttack.Pretty please..!!!

Love the elaborate description of the concrete covering! I would have similar feeling about tackiness of decor. Why ruin it. I think they should get stone slabs or small boulders instead if they don't care much about maintenance. And of course I wont want wooden logs etc...as this would mean killing few trees.

Regarding food...I think I would love the bamboo mutton and the prawn you have mentioned. Next time you go there let us know how the leaf wrapped mutton tastes.

Also instead of spending money worthless concrete monstrosity they should spend it on cutlery. Who serves in steel plates now a days...Next time you are there please give your feedback to them. Though from my own experience I have noticed to my dismay...in Odisha the restaurant people usually consider it's an offense if you point out the plates don't look clean enough. They are so prickly that they almost take pride in bad job... :(Another reason, I stay away from these eateries...

About the hideous decor, perhaps they had it made to their own sense of 'posh'. If you travel in the hinterland, you'll notice houses generally tend to carry a grace and beauty in harmony with their surroundings, except the ones made by people who aspire to higher rungs on the social ladder. That lot build to showcase their status more than anything else, which is how you find these monstrosities dotting the countryside and sticking out like so many magenta or parrot-green sore thumbs. There's a lot of creative things they can do with aboulders and natural wood, but for that you need an experienced architect.

About the cutlery and crockery, I confess I'm quite comfortable with steel plates. It remains a dhābā at heart, and steel plates are what you usually get at such places. As long as they keep it clean (which they do) I am satisfied.

Regarding leaf-wrapped mutton, in fact I was discussing the very same thing with Millan (part of the gang) when I came across your comment! Yes certainly I need to check out all that, also some more of their prawn. It would be even better if you came along too :)

The mutton is clearly the place's signature dish, and also the most expensive at around four hundred a serving. Small chunks of mutton are liberally smeared with spices, ginger, garlic and (very discernibly) mustard oil, and then stuffed into hollow bamboo logs. The logs are then sealed, tossed into smouldering embers, and left there for the meat to cook.